Asian markets close Thursday in red

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) – Asian stocks ended in the negative territory on Thursday amid rising number of COVID-19 cases and aggressive tightening expectations from central banks.

The US Federal Reserve officials expressed support for one or more 50 basis point interest rate hikes at future meetings if inflation remains high or keeps climbing, according to minutes released on Wednesday.

The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, lost 49.6 points, or 1.38%, to close at around 3,551 points.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock exchange was down 461.73 points, or 1.69%, to 26,888.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, decreased 271.54 points, or 1.23%, to 21,808.

China's Shanghai Stock Exchange shed 46.73 points, or 1.42%, to close at 3,236 points.

The Indian Sensex benchmark was down 575.46 points, or 0.97%, to end the day 59,034 points.

The Singapore index fell 18.72 points, or 0.55%, to 3,404.